Chapter 1251
Something To Eat
Allison left Vanna and Samantha behind. She wanted to go to the Command Center. She thought about getting something to eat as she passed by the commissary on the way there. She looked in. She didn't stop. It seemed like too big of a hassle. She was used to her mother having everything ready for her, even if she was late to any of the meals. She seemed to be busy with Holly and Hanna a lot when she was in Palmdale.
John Henry observed Allison was on her way to see him or go to the commissary. He closed any screens he was viewing he didn't want to get caught viewing. He seemed to have more and more of those lately. It was more stimulating to him to view them through his chassis, rather than just his server. They often produced a 'physical result' if he did. It could lead to other things developing with his sheath. Well, parts of his sheath. Sometimes things could go a little further if he was all alone.
Allison looked back towards the commissary one more time. She shrugged her shoulders and entered the Command Center. She smiled at John Henry
"Hi, John Henry." Allison said.
John Henry smiled back at her.
"Hello, Allison." John Henry said.
Allison wanted to get up to speed on the current events. She wasn't sure what happened during her hiatus. She was sure something must have.
"Fill me in on what's going down." Allison said.
John Henry was unsure who she wanted to see. Based upon what he saw happen in the rooms at the base, he thought she was better qualified to answer the question herself. He figured it was exactly what she'd been doing a few minutes ago. He thought he better clarify things.
"Do you mean with Savannah or with Cameron?" John Henry asked.
Allison thought it would be nice to see what Cameron was up to. She hadn't expected to. She wondered how specific things could get. Maybe there were cameras in the rooms. It seemed like something Cameron would do.
"How many of the cameras can you view?" Allison asked.
John Henry thought it should be all of them. CamNet restricted some of his viewing pleasure.
"All of the ones CamNet will show me." John Henry said.
Allison wondered where those cameras were and what was going on.
"Are there some cameras CamNet won't show you?" Allison asked.
John Henry was blocked in some areas from time to time.
"There've been some." John Henry said.
He didn't elaborate any further.
Allison was curious to see where everyone was at on the ship.
"Where's Cameron now?" Allison asked.
John Henry continuously reviewed all the feeds in his server. He wanted to make it look like he'd just checked now. He was always busy trying to keep track of what everyone was doing and with whom. It applied at the base as well as on the ship.
"Let's check." John Henry said.
Allison was sure he already knew but didn't say anything.
He went through a number of cameras. He did it to show Allison more of the ship.
Allison was impressed at what she was able to see
"That boat looks really nice." Allison said.
John Henry knew if a 'boat' was longer than a hundred and ninety eight feet, it was a 'ship'. There were few exceptions. A submarine was an example. It was usually referred to as a 'boat'.
"Technically it's a ship." John Henry said.
Allison watched reruns of a TV program called 'The Love Boat'. She thought it was worth pointing out the inconsistency.
"They didn't call the TV series, 'The Love Ship'." Allison said.
John Henry quickly reviewed the reference.
"I guess they didn't." John Henry said.
John Henry felt somehow it sounded better as 'The Love Boat', even if it was technically incorrect. It was a TV show after all. He was aware people got caught up in them. Sometimes when they were canceled, people even invested their time and created stories about them to continue their personal fantasy and the drama of the TV show.
People didn't always like they way they did things. He figured those people were free to invest their time to create their own story and live their own fantasy. It seemed very time consuming to him. He wondered if people really knew how time consuming it was and the effort and personal sacrifice involved. They needed to have ideas and concepts to keep them personally motivated to keep the story going. He quickly checked a few websites. He found a lot of dead stories. It occurred to him the people who continued the fantasy might need 'professional help'. He thought it might apply to the people who read them as well. He realized he was drifting. He wanted to show Allison more.
He called up the feed from the main dining room.
Allison was amazed at how beautiful everyone looked. She wondered if everyone on the ship looked the same way all of the time. It seemed on the TV show they usually were. Some of the other views showed a lot of people who were dressed up fancy.
"I see them." Allison said. "Look at them. Wow! They all look so nice. The girls look pretty. Look, there's Summer and Jan."
Allison thought her sister looked beautiful.
John Henry watched them enter a few minutes ago.
"They just started dinner." John Henry said.
Allison looked at the table settings and the surroundings of the dining room. It was a level of luxury she'd never experienced before.
"Everything looks really fancy." Allison said.
It seemed to John Henry as if Allison would like to go there.
"It is." John Henry said. "Are you and Vanna going to go?"
Allison frowned a little. There were a multitude of conflicting thoughts in her mind.
"I don't know." Allison said. "It looks like fun. Vanna needs to take care of Precious."
John Henry didn't see any reason why Allison couldn't go. It was unnecessary for her to do anything for Precious.
"You can go." John Henry said. "Holly is there. She's watching Summer and Jan."
Allison thought about it. There was a fine selection of Metal girls and Jesse was there too. There was a deeper calling inside of her.
Her true love and mate needed to stay with Precious. She would support and comfort Vanna. Nobody would be abandoned on her watch.
"I'll stay with Vanna." Allison said. "I won't leave her here alone."
John Henry thought Samantha and him were there too along with Precious. Vanna wouldn't be alone. He understood it was a personal connection. He was aware some emotions were extremely powerful.
"Vanna is your true love." John Henry said.
Allison loved Vanna very much.
"She is." Allison said. "We all 'get around' a little. Well, it's actually a lot. We have a few bumpy spots every now and then. I love her more than anything. I always have and I always will."
Allison still remembered the white smoke coming off of Vanna's lower abdomen as she allowed the red hot metal to be pressed against her unblemished flesh. The scream of agony still echoed in her ears at times. Vanna offered to be a sex slave to gain her freedom. She could never forget it. There'd been a good chance she most likely would have died in the Scavenger camp if Vanna hadn't saved her. She thought Vanna would die there too.
There were times when she was with Vanna when she would look at the scar. Sometimes she would touch it. She didn't think Vanna deserved to have her body marred like that. She'd ask Vanna to see a plastic surgeon several times since they'd return to the past, the present. It didn't seem to be something Vanna wanted to pursue. She really didn't know why.
Vanna didn't want to leave Precious behind. She didn't want to take anything away from Samantha either. She enjoyed sharing with Samantha immensely. She took one more look back at the door and headed out to find Allison. She looked in the commissary and saw Allison wasn't in there yet. She'd hoped Allison might have had some food ready for them to eat.
She knew in the future it was normally her who needed to make sure Allison had food to eat. She figured some things never changed. There were times when there was no food. She needed to wait until Allison was asleep. She went out into the night and did what she needed to do to get food for Allison. She would cry all the way back to their sleeping area. The next morning she always made sure Allison had something to eat. She usually didn't eat any herself, she just couldn't. She shook her head to clear it. She continued along and headed for the Command Center.
She could hear John Henry and Allison talking as she approached.
Vanna was very pleased to hear what Allison said about her. It was how she felt about Allison too. Somehow it justified every sacrifice she'd ever needed to make for Allison. She knew if she ever needed to do it all over again, she'd do the same things. She would make sure Allison was protected and cared for. She loved her dearly. She decided not to enter the Command Center yet.
She turned around and went back to the commissary. She looked to see if there were any frozen dinners to warm up. She saw there were a lot more items in the refrigerator when she looked in there. She was aware Claire wanted a bigger selection of food items to make things with.
It made her remember how life was in the future. There were times when she was held captive. She wasn't fed for days at a time unless she did 'everything' she was told to do. There were some things she wouldn't do unless there was a gun to the side of her head or a knife to her throat, those happened too. She knew she needed to stay alive to fight back. As long as she stayed alive, she'd 'won'. Everyday she survived was a victory. No one had been able to end her life. As long as she was still alive, it gave her the opportunity to end their life instead.
She absent mindedly touched her throat now. There were small scars still from where knifes dug into her flesh at times. She could feel the blood run down as they threatened to slit her throat if she didn't perform what they wanted.
She'd even thought of turning herself over to Skynet to escape the brutality. She was told by another female, who'd escaped from a work camp, it was just as bad there. First, the Grays would take her. They'd abused someone new non stop for a few weeks. When they got tired of them, they dumped them in the general population of prisoners. There were those there who would then take over the abuse. They all thought they were going to die and didn't care what they did to anyone. Some tried to stop it. Most didn't care. They'd given up hope and were just waiting to die.
The females needed to work eighteen hour days and were abused multiple times every night. They were all malnourished and starved on a regular basis. When death came, no one complained. Most seem to actually welcome it. It put an end to the suffering.
Vanna looked at the food and walked away. She was no longer hungry after reliving some of those past events. They still made her physically sick. The worst ones she'd experienced were when a group of men held her down and took turns. They laughed and beat her as they all went several times. They called her trash, slut, whore and Bitch. There was no part of her body they didn't abuse. She hoped she wouldn't vomit now.
She remembered the times she tried to be with Derek. She just couldn't do it. She actually would have felt more comfortable if he would have taken her by force. He respected her too much to make her do what she didn't want to do. She did want to try it on her own one time, she just couldn't. She knew the first time she could do it voluntarily would be when her true virginity was given. Everything else up to that point, it was taken.
She'd always needed to keep a morsel of personal pride and dignity to herself. One of the 'older' women, who was actually only in her early twenties, in a Scavenger camp told her that. She told her everything that happened until she made the choice herself, didn't count for her personal honor. It was something she never forgot. They could take her physical virginity from her but they couldn't take her mental virginity from her. It would always belong to her until she chose to share it.
She headed to the Command Center. She didn't look back at the commissary. The desire for something to eat, was pushed to the back of her mind.
John Henry noted Vanna's progress earlier and then her turn around when Allison spoke of her. He saw her touch her scar as Allison spoke. He didn't think Vanna knew she did it. He'd looked into cosmetic surgery for Vanna years ago. He took her to see several surgeons. They all said they could fix her scar and make it all but invisible. She always backed out of the process. He never understood why. He eventually asked Cameron about it. Cameron said she tried to assist Vanna with the surgery as well before. She told him Vanna was afraid if she did the cosmetic surgery, Allison would leave her. Vanna was afraid the scar was an obligation Allison felt she needed to honor. She feared without her scar, Allison would move on without her. It seemed the internal scars inside Vanna, were just as bad as the physical ones on the outside.
"Hello." Vanna said.
Allison smiled at Vanna.
"Hey. Check this out." Allison said.
Allison showed Vanna where the team was at on the ship.
Vanna's eyes were fixated on something she thought was more beautiful than anything on the ship. It was on all of the girls, both human and Terminator.
"Everything is really fancy." Vanna said. "Look at all the girls. They all look like super models or something in those dresses. I think any one of them could be an actress if they wanted to be."
Vanna didn't think she could ever look as good. She looked at Hanna and wondered if maybe she could. They all looked stunning.
Allison didn't want Vanna to get 'target fixation'. There were other things to see besides the girls.
"You can see the rest of the ship too." Allison said.
Allison showed Vanna the other screens.
Vanna could see the excitement on Allison's face. She knew how to 'read' Allison about everything. She could see Allison wanted to be there.
"You should have gone with Jesse and Claire." Vanna said.
Allison looked at Vanna and touched her cheek.
"I won't go without you, Vanna." Allison said.
Vanna wanted to check to see if it was true. She wanted to give Allison a choice.
"You wouldn't go, even if Savannah asked you to go with her?" Vanna asked.
Allison loved Savannah. How could she not? Savannah Weaver was 'Savannah Weaver' in any timeline.
"I love Savannah dearly." Allison said. "If she asked me, I'd go with her. You're my true love. I'd prefer to go with you."
Allison actually thought a 'three way' would be better. She knew Vanna was always a little uneasy with Savannah in the mix. She wasn't really sure why. She didn't have a problem when she'd shared with Future Allison. Maybe it would be different when it came to Young Allison. She figured somehow it would be. She quickly pushed the thought from her mind.
Vanna could tell it was an honest answer. Allison really meant it. There were other obligations she needed to deal with. She'd made a promise to Riley.
"I need to take care of Precious." Vanna said. "I want you and Savannah to go together. You both deserve a break."
Allison liked the idea of going with either Vanna or Savannah. She wasn't going to push it.
"We'll see." Allison said.
Vanna looked at John Henry. She was worried about Savannah. She thought if anybody needed a break around the Resistance base, it was Savannah. She always seemed to be in the middle of some dangerous operation.
"Where's Savannah at?" Vanna asked.
John Henry went over all of the operations and where everyone was at.
Allison picked up on something John Henry said about Young Allison. She thought it sounded a little extreme. She wanted to know if there was a visual record of it. She figured there was.
"Can we see what Allison did?" Allison asked.
John Henry wasn't sure if CamNet was going to intervene. It was Allison Young who just asked to see what 'Young Allison Young' had done.
"Yes." John Henry said.
He showed them the drone footage from two different drones. CamNet didn't hold anything back. It made him wonder how much pull Allison could have with CamNet. She wasn't Young Allison, even if she once was. He remembered when CamNet wanted to see both Allison and Vanna in person. CamNet wanted to see what the adult version of Savannah and Young Allison were like.
They watched the big rig pile into the building and the two massive explosions which turned it into a burning pile of rubble. It was clear there were no survivors.
Vanna was impressed with the ingenuity.
"It was quite spectacular." Vanna said.
John Henry pointed out the new technique.
"Young Allison wanted it to look like an accident." John Henry said. "We usually use a missile strike and blame it on a natural gas leak."
Allison thought Young Allison wanted the dead trucker to be seen as the culprit. She was sure there was a certain amount of vengeance involved.
"From what you described of the dead trucker, I think Allison wanted to pin it on him." Allison said. "She's a real firecracker sometimes."
Vanna looked at Allison. She needed to suppress a laugh.
"I wonder where she gets it from." Vanna said.
Allison held her hands out to her sides at shoulder height.
"Hey, don't blame me." Allison said. "I should blame her."
John Henry thought she would still need to blame herself either way. It was illogical. Then again, all humans were at times. Maybe it was what made them human. Cameron exhibited many of those same traits. He believed they'd progressed more on Cameron's own, rather than solely coming from Future Allison.
Vanna thought Allison looked a little hungry. She felt the need to take care of her.
"Do you want something to eat?" Vanna asked.
Allison looked at Vanna and giggled.
"I guess you mean food this time." Allison said.
Vanna quickly looked at John Henry. He appeared busy and didn't look or comment. She could see he didn't want to get involved and pretended like nothing happened.
"You know what I meant." Vanna said.
Both girls tried not to laugh. They did anyway.
Allison was concerned about where Savannah currently was at. She knew how the operations tended to go out of control rather rapidly. She'd been on more than a few of them herself.
"I want to follow the operation Savannah is on for right now." Allison said.
Vanna thought about trying to cook something. She quickly gave up the idea. It usually ended up in disaster. She tried to follow some of Sarah's cooking tips. She was sure she would have been better off without some of them. It was easier to warm things up.
"I'd offer to make you something." Vanna said. "We both know how it usually turns out."
Allison didn't think it was so bad based on the past.
"It's still better than many of the meals we needed to eat in the future." Allison said. "Or worse, the meals we didn't have to eat."
Allison was aware whenever they didn't have food for more than two days, Vanna always was able to make her something the next morning. It always bothered her some because Vanna never ate any of the food. She gave it all to her instead. Vanna wouldn't eat until they were given some rations at some point. Sometimes she needed to beg Vanna to at least eat a few bites between supplies. She didn't want to think about it.
Vanna pointed to the dining room on the ship.
"That's where the good eating is at." Vanna said.
Allison looked at all of their females there. They all looked like movie stars. She saw what was on the tables as well.
"The food looks good too." Allison said.
Allison looked away from the monitor with the rest of the group on the ship. She was aware everything would be contingent on the reports every fifteen minutes from the Metal girls inside of the drainage system.
"How soon will it be until Cammy and Cam report back?" Allison asked.
John Henry checked the drone images as well as the body cam footage. The actual operation just started.
"They've only just entered the drainage pipe." John Henry said. "Savannah is going to keep their exit open."
Allison was worried about all of them.
"I want to watch." Allison said.
John Henry looked at Vanna and Allison.
"Don't you want some food?" John Henry asked.
Vanna still thought about being held down and abused. They would roughly flip her over from front to back several times. Why did they have to beat and hit her? They already were doing everything. She didn't resist much. She'd learned it made the beatings worse and it still happened anyway. Once it was clear she was going to be abused. She would just let it happen. It was over faster that way. She just didn't participate unless there was a gun to the side of her head or a knife to her throat. She didn't need to worry about the past. She needed to worry about the present.
"I think I lost my appetite." Vanna said. "When was the last time Savannah was able to eat?"
John Henry doubted she'd eaten anything. He'd actually seen her give away her energy bar to the girls to eat. She gave them the MREs in the SUV as well.
"That's unknown." John Henry said. "I haven't seen her stop for anything since the operation started in the morning."
Vanna knew Savannah did her job and never complained.
"She won't say anything either." Vanna said.
Allison was reminded of someone. She look squarely at Vanna.
"Who would know better than you?" Allison asked.
Vanna looked at the security monitor.
"Nobody…." Vanna said.
Moments ago:
Cammy and Cam arrived at the junction for the drainage pipe entrance into the flood control channel. They came from opposite directions at the same time.
"I saw nothing unusual from my direction." Cam said.
Cammy spotted some suspicious marks in the flood control channel.
"I spotted what may have been traces of more than one incursion into this flood control system." Cammy said.
Cammy noted how filthy Cam's clothes were. It upset her to think Savannah was the one wearing them when they ended up looking like that.
Cam noticed Cammy check her out.
"How do I look?" Cam asked.
Cammy thought she looked like crap. She was going to mention what Savannah went through but decided to drop it for now. She remembered something she heard Sarah say more than once.
"You look like Hell." Cammy said.
Cam liked the spectacular ending to the trucker saga.
"It got the job done." Cam said. "I really liked the finish. The second finish that is."
Cammy liked the double explosion and the certain fate of all those inside.
"It was rather impressive." Cammy said.
Cam looked around. She checked with John Henry.
"Everything is a go." Cam said.
Cammy heard the transmission from John Henry as well.
"Follow me." Cam said. "I've been in here before."
Cam remembered her ordeal in the boxcar and the crate later on. It was after she was down there first.
Cammy currently possessed those same files.
"Tell me about it." Cammy said. "This looks like trouble."
The two Metal girls entered the large drainage pipe.
Savannah issued a warning before they disappeared.
"Please be careful, both of you." Savannah said. "Watch for booby traps and trip wires. Don't forget to check in."
Cammy was glad Savannah wasn't with her on this endeavor.
"We will." Cam and Cammy both said at the same time. They would lose contact shortly as they went below the surface.
Cammy didn't know Savannah planned to join them if they didn't check in.
Young Allison and Anna watched all the events. They saw Cam and Cammy enter into the feeder pipe.
Anna noted the concern on Young Allison's face.
"You look worried." Anna said.
Young Allison checked on Savannah after Cam and Cammy disappeared.
"I am." Young Allison said.
Anna felt there was enough backup for everyone.
"Cam and Cammy know what they're doing." Anna said. "Steve and Tom are with Savannah. Al and Ed are there as back up for Cam and Cammy."
The Terminators weren't her main worry.
"I'm not worried about them." Young Allison said. "I mean I am, but it's not my main worry."
Anna tilted her head slightly.
"You're concerned about the anti-Metal faction." Anna said.
It bothered Young Allison enough to make a bold decision.
"Yes." Young Allison said. "CamNet, I want privacy for two minutes."
The monitors all flashed once.
Anna was aware it was usually 'bad news' concerning Young Allison. She wasn't really sure she wanted to hear what was about to be proposed. She knew she needed to anyway.
"What are you doing?" Anna asked.
Young Allison wanted to shield Savannah and Cameron from getting involved with the anti-Metal faction.
"I'm going to 'order' John Henry and CamNet to only tell me where the anti-Metal faction is at once we track them down." Young Allison said. "I don't want Savannah or Cameron to know."
It not only sounded like a bad idea to Anna, it made her worry about what was sure to follow.
"Why?" Anna asked. "What are you going to do?"
Young Allison looked at Anna.
"I'm going to take them down myself." Young Allison said.
Anna felt a glitch impulse shoot through her hand. She needed to make her position clear. She knew there could be consequences. She was willing to pay them to protect Young Allison.
"I can't allow it." Anna said. "I'll submit to chip extraction before I'll allow you to be damaged or killed."
Young Allison tried to make light of her idea.
"Relax a little. I might need someone to run the TDE." Young Allison said.
Her statement only made Anna feel worse. She wasn't going to allow Young Allison to go into combat by herself.
"Negative." Anna said. "You're not going alone to do this."
Young Allison saw it as her duty to protect Cameron and Savannah.
"I need to protect them." Young Allison said. "Cameron will get off the ship before it docks if we get a location, if SHE gets a location."
Anna was about to ask how Cameron would get off the ship before it docked. Maybe there was something she didn't know. She could picture Cameron taking one of the small launches from the ship or dropping into the water with a life vest and have a drone pick her up after the ship continued on. None of them were good thoughts.
Young Allison felt strongly about what needed to be done.
"I want to do my share." Young Allison said.
Anna felt Young Allison was already doing it.
"You already are." Anna said. "I can't allow you to do it alone."
Young Allison planned on having a large force of drones back her up. They would do all the hard hitting for her.
"I plan to have drone support." Young Allison said.
Anna decided the best course of action was for her to accompany Young Allison. It was a wiser choice than being deactivated for not helping her.
"I must accompany you." Anna said.
Young Allison could see Anna's hand started to glitch. She reached over and took Anna's hand. She could see her words hurt Anna.
"I'm sorry." Young Allison said. "Maybe I'll just control the information for now."
Anna tried one more tactic to dissuade Young Allison.
"I ask that you rethink this plan before it's put into action." Anna said. "You previously wanted to know if you were about to 'blow it' before you did. I'm telling you now. You're about to 'blow it'."
Young Allison appreciated Anna's input and concern. She still had a deep rooted feeling she was going to be in combat before the week was up. She didn't know if the combat would be initiated by her or if it would come to her. She was ready either way. She'd trained long and hard with Cameron. She was ready, even if no one else believed she was.
She may not have killed in person, but she'd already killed plenty of times with her actions. None of them bothered her as everyone thought they should. The dead were the enemy. The enemy wanted to kill them. She drew 'first blood' and made sure they were killed first. She really didn't think a face to face encounter would bother her. What was the difference? You either won or you lost. She intended to win.
Cameron continuously conditioned Young Allison to be a ruthless stone cold killer. She would draw first blood and kill in cold blood. She wouldn't even blink. It had always been Cameron's goal to make Young Allison the human version of herself. It was already done more so than anyone knew, including Cameron.
"OK." Young Allison said. "I'll rethink this. Thank you for being firm. I'm sorry if I traumatized you."
Young Allison kissed Anna on the cheek.
"I know you understand." Anna said.
The glitch stopped.
Young Allison wanted everyone to refocus.
"Let's stick with Cammy's team for now." Young Allison said. "I don't have a good feeling about any of this."
She was sure there was a storm coming. It didn't have anything to do with the weather either.
Savannah made sure Steve and Tom were ready to move out. It took a lot of restraint on her part not to move them all closer to where Cammy and Cam went underground at.
Tom moved into her SUV as soon as it became apparent she was ready to act. He felt he needed to say something about what happened earlier. He was in the storm drain system with the other three Terminators. None of them were close enough to assist Savannah when she'd engaged the enemy.
"We must let it play out some." Tom said. "I'm sorry I wasn't there to assist you sooner. I know it was traumatic for you earlier in the day."
Savannah touched Tom's cheek. She didn't want to make a big deal about it. It was done. It was over.
"We all did what we could." Savannah said. "It was a lot more traumatic for the other guy."
Tom nodded.
"I suppose it was." Tom said. "You terminated him."
Savannah reflected on getting shot in the back of her vest and the thick smoke. She didn't think there would be any permanent damage to her lungs. She really didn't know.
"I was a little worried a couple of times." Savannah said.
Tom felt Savannah did her job.
"Getting shot at will do so to anyone." Tom said.
Tom knew Savannah held up under pressure. She'd even put the safety of Terminators before her own safety. He'd witnessed it first hand more than once. He wondered how many other humans would have done the same things. He'd even seen her remove her breathing gear, at great discomfort to herself, so she could wear her night vision to help protect Terminators.
Savannah looked at the drone image where Cam and Cammy were at. They were out of view.
"I'm worried." Savannah said.
Tom scanned Savannah as they spoke.
"You're worried about more than this operation." Tom said.
There was one worry Savannah wanted to keep from Cameron.
"I am." Savannah said. "It's the anti-Metal group. They trouble me."
Tom wanted to support Savannah.
"We'll terminate all of them." Tom said.
Savannah felt it was her personal responsibility.
"That's just it." Savannah said. "I think I need to do it on my own."
Tom wanted her to have more help.
"We're all here to support you." Tom said.
Savannah wanted to make a bold commitment.
"I think it needs to be like what Cameron does to every Skynet she terminates." Savannah said.
It didn't sound good to Tom. It sounded like it would be too dangerous.
"What do you mean?" Tom asked.
Savannah wanted to face them alone. She felt it would make a statement.
"I need to make it personal." Savannah said. "I need for them to know other humans are willing to stand up for Resistance Terminators on their own, even without Terminator support or captured Skynet technology. I want them to know it's human against human. I want them to know it is about what's right over blind hatred."
Tom could tell it was too great a risk for Savannah.
"I can't allow you to take such a risk." Tom said.
Savannah reached over and gently touched Tom's cheek again.
"Don't make me 'order' you not to stop me." Savannah said.
Tom knew when not to push it. It would require a different tactic.
Savannah began to make her plans.
Hank and Larry watched the female Fanatic inspect her vehicle. They headed for the building she'd last been inside of. They knew a Gray went inside of it. She'd entered and left with his vehicle. He was more than likely terminated.
Larry didn't know when they would be able to wrap things up. He followed an operation with Savannah's team.
"I wonder if any of this is connected to where Savannah and her team are at." Larry said.
Hank hadn't seen any indication it was. They did recover more information with every stop they'd made along the way. Perhaps when they searched the building the female Fanatic left behind, they would find some additional clues.
"They're all connected to the future." Hank said. "It appears to be the only commonality."
Larry reviewed the footage of the building which had been attacked by the gasoline tanker.
"I think it was quite a spectacular finish for the Fanatics in the building." Larry said.
Hank looked at the image of the female Fanatic at her van. They saw the police car pull up next to her.
"I don't think that's a good development." Hank said.
Larry didn't think so either.
"We should have moved on her earlier." Larry said.
Hank knew Savannah and Young Allison didn't want law enforcement to get involved with any of the individuals from the future if it was possible. He didn't think it would end well for them.
"CamNet needs to act immediately." Hank said.
Larry glanced at the sky and several drone images.
"The drones are much lower down since it's dark." Larry said. "One of them has dropped into gun range of the van."
Hank knew the drone would have to be in low to be that close.
"It may cause additional issues if the drone opens fire." Larry said. "The female Fanatic is currently under the van. The police are not. They may be hit by ricochets."
CamNet decided to act.
The female Fanatic reached down to draw her pistol. She would fight it out with the police. If she was shot, she would activate her poison tooth. If she prevailed in the gunfight, she was going to drive away.
"We need you to come out from under the van immediately." The first policeman said.
The female Fanatic could see the feet of both of the policemen. One of the policemen went to move around to the other side of the van. They would be on both sides of her in seconds. She needed to act now.
There was a loud beeping noise from the direction of the police cruiser. A call came over the radio. An officer needed immediate assistance. They were currently engaged in a gun battle with several street gang members with long guns.
"Never mind." The first policeman said. "We need to go."
Both of the policemen hurried back to their cruiser. They left the parking lot with a squeal of tires, the lights flashing and the siren blaring.
The female Fanatic rolled onto her side to make sure they left. They were gone. She quickly got up and back into the van. She started it and went to drive away. She paused near the entrance and stopped at a trash can. She smashed both phones and the tablet with the butt of her pistol. She threw them into the trash can. She drove out of the parking lot. She was going to need a new set of wheels. She had a couple of leads. She decided to check them out.
Hank and Larry watched the policemen get back in their cruiser and drive away quickly.
CamNet informed them what she'd done. She'd sent them an 'officer needs assistance' call. It was to prevent them from being shot or killed by the female Fanatic. They knew the female Fanatic still had the bomb in the back of the van.
Larry thought they should take decisive action.
"It's time we Terminate her." Larry said.
CamNet moved the drone from gun range back up to a higher altitude. She wanted to see where the female Fanatic would go. She told Hank and Larry to check out the building first and then they could follow the female Fanatic.
Hank and Larry neared the building the female Fanatic left from earlier. They drove by it one time. They didn't spot anything unusual or of significance. It would take a closer look on foot.
Larry got out at the corner.
Hank would drive around the block and park at the other corner. They would approach the building from two different sides. He parked the SUV and got out. He could see Larry at the far end of the block. They both started to walk towards the building.
Hank and Larry didn't know the building might explode at any second from the natural gas leak the female Fanatic created. They were both halfway down the street. They would reach the building in less than a minute.
The female Fanatic needed to get rid of her van. The close encounter with the police was a reminder how quickly things could go bad. She thought she was going to have trouble moving the bomb from the back of the van. She wanted to come up with a better option. She decided if she was going to acquire a new vehicle, she might as well use the bomb first and blow the van up with it.
She headed to one of the locations she'd found on the tablet. She wasn't really sure what she would find there. If it was a Skynet target, she was going to use the bomb.
Her eyes searched all around her as she drove. She was unfamiliar with a lot of the streets in the location she was currently at. She thought maybe she should have kept one of the phones or the tablet for directions. She hadn't.
She wasn't sure why the police came into the park in the first place. It made her wonder if she'd been targeted because of the phones and tablet in her possession. Some version of Skynet could have sent the police to intercept her. It made her wonder why. Why wasn't a Terminator sent? Why wasn't a Gray sent? What was really going on? Had she stumbled into something Skynet didn't want her to find?
She passed by an electronics store. She immediately pulled over to the curb and parked. She went inside of the store and purchased a burner phone. She'd been able to take a substantial quantity of money from the two Grays she'd killed inside of the building. She used the burner phone to locate the address of the first location she wanted to go to.
She thought about the money she'd taken from the deceased Grays. It was probably money they would have used to lure a young female or male into their vehicle. They would have put the grab on them to abuse them. The thought of the two 'comfort bunks' she'd witnessed bothered her to no end.
She reach down and touch the remote control for the bomb in her pocket. She felt the loose poison tooth in her mouth. She touched the gun in her waistband. She wasn't going to end up tied to 'comfort bunk' alive. She knew for Grays, it didn't always matter.
The female Fanatic checked the burner phone for the address she wanted. She pushed the other thoughts out of her mind. She was there to serve SkyMaster. It was what she intended to do. The promise of Ascension is what fueled her.
Something To Eat
Hunger comes in many forms
It's not just for meat
Maybe the hunger is satisfied
By whom one will meet
Things won't go far
When there's deceit
It's always best
To remain discrete
No one wants to be
Treated like a clay skeet
They want to be equal
They want to feel complete
To make the same mistakes
Means history will repeat
Don't act with conceit
Down be unyielding like concrete
People are more than a snack
They're more than a sweet treat
Never forget what they can offer
There's always something to eat
Nobody